thanks for the great article. Delay across the network is one of the main concern about VDI performance. Three parameters are key here:

1) the sensitivity of the VDI protocol to delays - this is why VDI vendors continue to improve their stack like it is explained in your article;

2) the geography (i.e. how far away are users and servers, and

3) fluidity at the remote branch which is usually the main bottleneck. This last point gets increased importance because of the variety of the flows that combine at this access (VDI + Unified Communications + Internet + Cloud + ...) all at the same time. Traditionnal WAN Optimization (compression, etc.) can not really solve the issue as they only address a part of the flows in this open environment - The appropriate way is to implement QoS and per flow control at the branch level to provide true VDI flows protection in this dynamic and heterogeneous environment.

Excellent point, Rob. Real-time applications, such as VDI, VoIP, and video, are highly susceptible to packet loss. WAN optimizers, like those from Silver Peak, that can correct for packet loss and out-of-order packet in real time can significantly improve the quality of the VDI session.

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